Experiential Luxury influences 40% of your clients—Is Your Brand Delivering?

This spring, Bain & Company and Altagamma shared a message that should prompt every luxury brand to pause and reflect. Affluent clients have not lost interest in luxury, nor have they turned away from the brands they once admired. They are simply holding back—waiting for something that reignites their desire to engage. In short, they are waiting to be inspired again.

The market is not in decline. It is in a moment of stillness. Consumers are pressing pause—not because they are less loyal, but because they are searching for something deeper. They want more meaning, more emotional relevance, and a stronger sense of connection.

And now we have clear insight into what influences them most. According to Bain, 40% of luxury clients say their future spending will depend on the quality of the experiences brands deliver. This shift marks a turning point. Product alone is no longer enough. Legacy is no longer enough. The experience itself—how a brand makes clients feel—is becoming the defining factor in whether or not they return.

In the same study, 30% of clients said their future purchases would depend on new product launches. Together, these numbers paint a very clear picture: brands that want to lead the future of luxury must rethink how they engage, inspire, and serve their clients.

So the question stands: if 40% of your clients are influenced by experience, is your brand truly delivering?

Disconnection Is the Symptom

Luxury brands aren’t facing consumer fatigue—they’re facing emotional distance. The Bain report highlights a growing sense of alienation, but that’s not the root issue. The real problem is this: brands have lost touch with the emotional codes of their clients.

In the pursuit of scale, visibility, and global reach, many brands have unintentionally diluted the intimacy that once defined them. Consumers—especially those who once felt deeply connected—now feel reduced to segments, email flows, and seasonal campaigns. They no longer see themselves reflected in the brand. And when that mirror cracks, desire fades.

This disconnection is not irreversible. But rekindling it requires more than a clever launch or a polished activation. It demands that brands relearn the language of their clients’ lives—their rhythms, aspirations, contradictions, and shifting emotional needs. In short, brands must move from broadcasting to listening.

Experiential Luxury isn’t a add-on

Bain’s insight that 40% of future luxury spending will hinge on brand experience should not surprise anyone who’s spent real time with clients. Today’s consumers aren’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for presence. And yet too many brands still treat experience as a “value-add,” instead of what it truly is: the core of what defines luxury today.

But here’s the key: not all experiences are created equal. What clients want isn’t a branded dinner or a VIP card—they want to feel seen. They want moments that feel deeply personal, culturally aware, and emotionally attuned to where they are in life.

For this to happen, marketers need to go beyond persona mapping and budget allocations. They need to sit with clients. Listen. Watch. Feel. Understand that the smallest, most bespoke gesture can often mean more than the grandest campaign.

There is no A/B test for goosebumps. No KPI for the silent, internal “yes” a client feels when an experience just getsthem. No dashboard that tracks the quiet confidence of being remembered, anticipated, and truly seen.

And that’s precisely why experiential thinking must move from the sidelines into the boardroom. It's not a post-campaign perk. It's not hospitality. It’s a strategic imperative. When done right, experiences create emotional capital—the kind of value that doesn’t fluctuate with interest rates or influencer fatigue. They stay with the client, sometimes for years, shaping how they talk about the brand, how they introduce it to others, and how they choose to return to it.

Because in a world of infinite choice, it’s the memory that matters most. And brands who understand that aren’t just creating moments—they’re building legacies.

Building True and Meaningful Relationships

One of the most powerful shifts in today’s luxury landscape is the transformation of identity. Bain’s data confirms it: recurring clients are no longer behaving in predictable ways. Why? Because the people behind the purchases are changing—personally, professionally, emotionally. Who they were last year is not who they are today.

Luxury consumers are no longer defined by status symbols or static demographics. They are multifaceted, evolving individuals navigating life transitions, cultural shifts, and global complexity. And yet, many brands still build their strategies around outdated archetypes—designing loyalty programs, content, and experiences for who someone was, not who they’re becoming.

This is more than a strategic oversight—it’s a missed emotional connection. To remain relevant, brands must shift from segmentation to empathy. From personalization to participation. Because today’s clients no longer want to be targeted—they want to be understood, and ideally, invited to co-create the meaning of the brand itself.

In celebration of Italian craftsmanship, Mytheresa and Kiton hosted an immersive two-day experience in Naples. From a private tour to an exclusive trunk show and from intimate cocktail to a pizza-making workshop. A truly authentic setting to connect with their special guests.

That demands a different kind of leadership—one that doesn’t just manage transactions but nurtures transformation. The most enduring luxury relationships are not built on media spend or seasonal launches. They’re built on shared values, trust, and emotional resonance.

This is the opportunity—and the responsibility. If you’re designing for KPIs, you may hit targets. But if you’re designing for human connection, you’ll build something that outlasts campaigns, roles, and market cycles. Luxury is not a campaign. It’s a continuum. One that lives in memory long after the marketer moves on.

So ask yourself: Are you creating something that will still matter when you’re gone?

The next chapter

The Bain & Altagamma findings don’t point to a crisis—they point to a pause. A moment of reflection. Consumers haven’t disappeared; they’re simply waiting for something worth coming back to. Not just a product—but a feeling. A connection. A reason to care.

The challenge is not one of relevance, but of resonance. Luxury brands must move beyond campaigns and KPIs to design experiences that are emotionally intelligent and culturally attuned. That’s where the future lies—in crafting relationships that are felt, not just tracked.

This next chapter won’t be written by those who play it safe, but by those willing to reimagine what intimacy, creativity, and meaning look like in modern luxury. If you’re ready to explore what that could mean for your brand—I’d be glad to help shape the way forward.

Because in the end, luxury isn’t what you say. It’s how you make people feel—and how long that feeling lasts.